Fish List

[mjw88]

Hi, new to the forum and new to the salt water aquariums. I have a 40g aqua top and have already added a pair of picsssos, was looking to add a royal gamma and a cardinal. Would this be an okay mix, thus far everything I’ve read seems to indicate it would be ok but most threads I’ve read talk about 40gal breeder style tanks and not my cube style. Does tank design make a difference?

long term I’m shooting for these 5

2 Picasso Clowns
1 RG
1 Banggai Cardinal

Later on
1 Green Manderin Dragonet

Inverts
I have 12 small (.5 in blue hermits)
5 Mexican Turbos

filtration
First compartment I removed the foam blocks and filled with green Chaeto

2nd sump has heater and is my Refugi with dragons breath a few pieces of Marco and pods

3rd is cartridges with ceramics and carbon filters

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hi, new to the forum and new to the salt water aquariums. I have a 40g aqua top and have already added a pair of picsssos, was looking to add a royal gamma and a cardinal. Would this be an okay mix, thus far everything I’ve read seems to indicate it would be ok but most threads I’ve read talk about 40gal breeder style tanks and not my cube style. Does tank design make a difference?

long term I’m shooting for these 5

2 Picasso Clowns
1 RG
1 Banggai Cardinal

Later on
1 Green Manderin Dragonet

Inverts
I have 12 small (.5 in blue hermits)
5 Mexican Turbos

filtration
First compartment I removed the foam blocks and filled with green Chaeto

2nd sump has heater and is my Refugi with dragons breath a few pieces of Marco and pods

3rd is cartridges with ceramics and carbon filters

Hoping you are feeding your inverts and pods well as that is a lot of cleanup crew (CUC) for bare looking early tank.

Tank length matters more for fish swimming. This is a helpful post regarding:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/estimating-the-need-for-swimming-space-for-aquarium-fishes.801/

When you are ready for a mandarin/dragonet, so many of our little friends starve so this is a very helpful post. I have two (think I need 3) of the flat brine shrimp hatcheries so I can constantly have hatched, hatching and getting ready/cleaned hatcher (notice my disconnect... hatching is a 24-36 hour process...) Also, I'm on the hunt for black pex - I found blue but i feel black might fade more into background of tank:

Thanks PaulB- Mandarin feeder

Just completed my Mandarin feeder after PaulB design. My Mandarin is currently fat and happy but wanna make sure she stays that way..I owe it to her after killing a couple 20 years ago when I first started this hobby and not having a clue for there needs. They have always been one of my favorite...

www.reef2reef.com

Dragons breath grew S.L.O.W. for me, but Red Ogo did much better, though my refugium lighting may play a part in that (details in my below build thread).

Wondering if no foam to preclean/filter what is coming into chaeto, you may need to periodically rinse chaeto in another tub and return to sump 1st chamber, but over time sure you'll figure out what works for you.

Keep us posted! Looking good!

 

[mjw88]

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[mjw88]

Hoping you are feeding your inverts and pods well as that is a lot of cleanup crew (CUC) for bare looking early tank.

Tank length matters more for fish swimming. This is a helpful post regarding:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/estimating-the-need-for-swimming-space-for-aquarium-fishes.801/

When you are ready for a mandarin/dragonet, so many of our little friends starve so this is a very helpful post. I have two (think I need 3) of the flat brine shrimp hatcheries so I can constantly have hatched, hatching and getting ready/cleaned hatcher (notice my disconnect... hatching is a 24-36 hour process...) Also, I'm on the hunt for black pex - I found blue but i feel black might fade more into background of tank:

Thanks PaulB- Mandarin feeder

Just completed my Mandarin feeder after PaulB design. My Mandarin is currently fat and happy but wanna make sure she stays that way..I owe it to her after killing a couple 20 years ago when I first started this hobby and not having a clue for there needs. They have always been one of my favorite...

www.reef2reef.com

Dragons breath grew S.L.O.W. for me, but Red Ogo did much better, though my refugium lighting may play a part in that (details in my below build thread).

Wondering if no foam to preclean/filter what is coming into chaeto, you may need to periodically rinse chaeto in another tub and return to sump 1st chamber, but over time sure you'll figure out what works for you.

Keep us posted! Looking good!

Thanks for the response, going into the chaeto will be water from the display, got rid of there clean foam, all the pods were hanging up in there, was thinking the chaeto would be a better habitat for them, basically having 2 refigiums and then the filtration before the return pump. Maybe I’ll just cut the foam block down smaller rather than removing completely

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Thanks for the response, going into the chaeto will be water from the display, got rid of there clean foam, all the pods were hanging up in there, was thinking the chaeto would be a better habitat for them, basically having 2 refigiums and then the filtration before the return pump. Maybe I’ll just cut the foam block down smaller rather than removing completely

Let it go a month or three and then make a decision about cutting them down

Not anything you need to do right now. Display tank is pretty clean so if its just pods moving totally agree with your current approach. Revisit when tank waste is moving down but until then you're doing fine! Thanks for sharing

 

[mjw88]

Let it go a month or three and then make a decision about cutting them down

Not anything you need to do right now. Display tank is pretty clean so if its just pods moving totally agree with your current approach. Revisit when tank waste is moving down but until then you're doing fine! Thanks for sharing

Ok awesome, forgot to add, after removing the pre clean foam and replacing with the chaeto and putting the dragons breath on the second sump I siliconed some strips of red leds and run on a dual timer, reds come on at night and blue and white displays shut off. Hoping to keep the algae happy. Now when I rinse the Chaeto will I lose pods or should I rinse it back into the display?

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Ok awesome, forgot to add, after removing the pre clean foam and replacing with the chaeto and putting the dragons breath on the second sump I siliconed some strips of red leds and run on a dual timer, reds come on at night and blue and white displays shut off. Hoping to keep the algae happy. Now when I rinse the Chaeto will I lose pods or should I rinse it back into the display?

Once your fish added into tank, your free swimming pods in water column are going to disappear (get eaten) and become less of concern with going from display tank to sump because they'll mostly be in sump or in display tank in/on rocks. Any that show their faces during lights on get eaten!

My comment re:rinsing is for detrius... aka fish poo... eventually you'll not be able to separate pods from poo/waste and shortly after that it will seem like all fish poo (esp if you become an overfeeder - like me - I know I have a problem, but I like feeding my fish - their response to me feeding is mostly why I'm in hobby). Your rinsing question is therefore hard for me to answer... You want fish poo and uneaten food waste to get removed. If you can be restrained feeder, then it is easier. Think this will just work itself out if you give it time during your regular maintenance